Why bake a regular cake when you can make a chocolate chip cookie cake?
Chocolate chip cookie cake recipes are easy to find, but this is my all-time favorite. You can make it as a basic cookie cake with semisweet chocolate chips or you can add M&Ms and decorate it with frosting for a more festive appearance. It's an easy recipe, but keep in mind the dough spreads.
This recipe is baked in a 14 inch pizza pan. Here's what it looks like Un-Baked:As you see, I lined the whole round pizza pan with nonstick foil to make it easier to remove pieces, but if you are using a new pan or one with a nonstick coating, you won't need the foil. Make sure perimeter of the cookie dough circle is about 1 ½ inches from the rim to allow room for spreading.
And here it is Baked!
At some point I'll update this post and share a photo of a nicely decorated cookie cake. I guess that point will be when I learn to decorate! The good thing about cookie cake is that they are decent blank slates for learning decorating skills, so if you are not the greatest cake decorator you can throw together a cookie cake and practice piping fancy edges or writing words with icing.
Recipe
M&M Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, bleached makes a softer cake 315 grams
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt**
- 4 oz butter preferably unsalted, 114 grams
- ½ cup shortening**
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar 200 grams
- ½ cup granulated sugar 100 grams
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 bag semi sweet regular or miniature size chocolate chips 2 cups
- 1 regular size bag about 1.5 oz plain M&M’s or, if you live in the UK, smarties
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300° F. Line a large (14 inch) round pizza pan with a circle of parchment or non-stick foil.
- Mix flour, baking soda and salt together; set aside.
- Cream butter, shortening and both sugars by hand or with an electric mixer. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. When well mixed, add flour mixture and stir until blended Fold in chocolate chips.
- Put all the batter in the pan and press it into a large circle. Stop the circle about 1 ½ to 2 inches from the rim. Press M&M’s decoratively into top.
- Bake on center rack for 32-35 minutes or until cookie is golden around edges and appears set.
Notes
**If you prefer not to use shortening, you can swap the shortening out for ½ cup of butter. In my opinion, the butter/shortening combo has a better texture.
Anna says
Thank you, Cindie!
Cindie says
I am a grandma of 5 and this cookie recipe has become a birthday tradition from me to my grandchildren! I have been making it for years and it always comes out great!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe,
Cindie
Kayden says
I love this
Anna says
Since it bakes at such a low heat there probably won't be much of a difference in bake times. That said, I'd go ahead and check it at about 23 minutes and continue watching it from there. My guess is they will be done in 28-30 minutes, but it's just a guess!
adela uribe says
Hi if i make it 2 nine inch cake pan how long do i bake it with 8 oz dough in it. thank you
Anna says
Patti, thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. I'm so glad you liked the cookie cake.
patti says
I forgot to mention that we used a pizza stone - the 14" pan was harder to find and we finally realized that our pizza stone was the right size!
patti says
Did this for my grandson's birthday. Worked well - firm like cookie and still moist and delicious. We had fun cutting this with a pizza wheel type cutter. Use a pizza box for 14" pizza.
Cindie says
I made this for an 18th birthday present. The batter is so yummy! I used half margarine and half butter because I didn't have any shortening. I wet my hands with cold water to spread the batter out nicely. And I made it thinner in the center than around the edge.
Steve says
i used this recipe for a school project it worked great
Anna says
Hi Linda,
Thanks for taking the time to review. I really appreciate it!
Linda from Pa says
This came out soooo Great! I doubled the recipe and made it in a very large pizza pan and also got a dozen cookies out of the recipe. Baked for the exact time and came out nice and soft and Chewy! This one is a keeper. Would be nice to make for parties and fun to decorate.
Anna says
Hi Judy,
Thanks for the review! And Happy Birthday to your son :).
Judy says
Made this today as a request for my son's 17th birthday. Made it as stated. Only suggestion is to cut it back 5 minutes. It was the best. Better than the store and they cost $10. It was huge and I used an extra large pizza pan with parchment paper. When you spread it, wet your fingers with water and spread it out.
Tarina says
The best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. We couldn't stop eating the dough as well as the finished product.
Natasha says
Is this a soft and chewy cookie cake?
Laura says
Excellent chocolate chip cookie recipe! My kids say it's the best ever!
Jacob Gray says
It works better when you have the right pan. For I did not have one and I used a cast iron skillet and ended thick
Anna says
Thanks for the review, Lisa! Glad it was a success.
Lisa says
Great and easy recipe. Made it tonight for v day. My fiancé lovvvves big cookies!
Cass says
My neighbors are very lucky I'm home alone and bored tonight coz iv just made them a cookie cake and it's in the oven now... (I really just needed to use all the M&Ms before I ate them all).
Anna says
Cool! Glad it worked.
Cass says
I made this today and it turned out perfectly!... I used one of those big aluminium trays you buy in the BBQ section t the super market... It's huge 🙂
April says
I can't find a pizza pan that doesn't have holes in it. Would the recipe work fine on a baking sheet?
Anna says
Hi Barb,
I'm sorry to say I don't have that exact recipe. Here's one you might try.
1 stick salted butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening OR another stick of butter (shortening makes the frosting stiffer and helps it hold up better)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 1/2 to 5 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/4 cup whole milk (1 to 4 tablespoons)
Beat the butter and shortening on high speed until creamy. Beat in the salt and vanilla, then gradually add the powdered sugar. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until frosting is the consistency you like.
Barb says
Any chance you also have the recipe for the frosting/icing they use on the mall cookie cakes? Both my boys would enjoy this for the birthday cakes, but they also love the frosting. 🙂
Toree says
Great Recipe! I brought it over to a birthday party last weekend! I used a mini bag of M&Ms along with some mini Rolos as well... mmmm caramel!
Mary says
WARNING!!! I didn't fully read the directions, you MUST keep the cookie's crust 2 inches from the rim of the pan! I had to pull mine out of the oven and make a huge foil pan to keep it from going all over the oven. Besides that little mishap it all turned out well.
Anna says
Hi Laura,
The best bet is to wrap the dough tightly and bake it right before you're ready to eat it. The dough will stay fresh in the refrigerator for about a week. If you want to go ahead and bake the cookie, bake it as directed, let it cool, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and freeze it until you're ready to it. You can keep it up to 2 months in the freezer.
Laura says
How long can this keep in an airtight container or in the fridge? thank you 🙂
Anonymous says
hello i am going to try this cookie for my friends birthday. it looks delicious!!! in england we also have M&M's.
Tracy says
Tried this cookie cake for my birthday. It is really good!Instead of using plain M&m's we used peanut butter ones.
Carole says
I made this for my 4 year old grandson's birthday. We served it in a pizza box. Caden LOVED it!!!! He shared some with his cousins too and they loved it...yummy!
I used Smarties, because they are a family favorite, and I didn't bake them it. I waited til it had cooled, then put icing dots all around the outside and pushed smarties into them to make a border. Then I wrote Happy Birthday in the middle with icing (melted chocolate writing is good too) BIG COOKIE= BIG HIT!!
randomlittlelady says
OMIGOSH these are amazing. I made one and it was just so cool. Christmas presents are now sorted. Giant cookies all round!
For a different recipe i am going to use jaffas instead of m&m's that should be good.
I already love cookies but making them giant just makes them so much better! Down with average sized cookies!!!!
Anna says
Hi Elissa,
Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad the cookie brightened your son's day.
Tatiana @ Maddie's Adventures says
That is amazing - 35 minutes for a cookie! Thanks for sharing. I have a great recipe for M&M Cookies that I just posted too. Check it out: http://www.maddiesadventures.com/mom-recipes/mm-cookie and let me know what you think.
Elissa says
Just wanted to let you know this recipe is excellent. I did it for my 16 year old for his birthday. He loved it so much that I just asked him what I could do to make him feel better since he had a bad day. Make the big cookie for me was his solution to happiness. 🙂
Dawn says
YES.... Thank you NEVER thought about making one and its wayyyy cheaper. I had tons of fun making it and decorating it for my daughter's 7thbday party tomorrow.. SHE loves cookie cakes every yr we would buy now I make!
Anna says
Hi Sally,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write an unbiased review. I really appreciate it.
I had great success with this recipe when I made it, but haven't made it in a while and was hoping that folks out there were getting the same good results. The great thing with cookie cakes is you can play with the add-ins as much as you want. Your white chip/mini chocolate chip combo is a great example. I'll bet the mini chips with the big white chips looked cool.
Thanks for the review. This is my daughter's favorite recipe and I should make it more often.
Sally says
I was searching the internet all over the place looking for the perfect cookie cake to bake for my boyfriend's birthday. This one caught my attention the most out of any other, so I decided to try it. I went to my cousin's house to bake the cake with his wife and I must say, it came out so great we ended up baking two of them! They both came out great, they were soft and probably the best cookie cakes I've ever tried. I did do something a little bit different instead of using a full bag of chocolate chips, I used half a bag of mini chocolate chips and half a bag of white chocolate chips, although I couldn't find mini white chocolate chips it still came out amazingly delicious. He loved it and so did everyone else. This recipe definitely made it into my favorites.
Brenda says
Is this cookie soft or crunchy? I'm looking for a soft cookie.
Anna says
Hi Austin,
Aren't cookie cakes great? I need to make this again. I spend so much time trying new recipes that I have to carve out time to go back and try old ones. This is one I'd like to make again soon.
Maybe I'll make it later today. My daughter loves cookie cakes.
Austin Royal says
This will be my next birthday cake i have had cookie cakes for the last 3 years now
Anna says
Hi Rick,
Good luck with your project. I think one cookie would be enough for 30, but you'd have to give out very small sample size pieces. You might want to go ahead and just make two. Maybe you'll get extra credit.
rick hosemiller says
okay i have to make a "how to" project in school so i decided to make a cookie cake... part of my grade is the taste and my class of about 30 has to eat a peice.. will that be enough for 30 peope?
Madeson Dile says
OMG! This looks fantastic! I'm doing a school project, and maybe I can talk about this delicious desert!;) O, and idk who fuzzy is but happy b-day anyway!;)
Karen says
I made this yesterday, dividing the dough into 2 8-inch cake pans to make two big, but not gigantic cookie cakes. Baking time was 30 minutes. My daughter and her friend each decorated one with a basic powdered sugar frosting, just to practice decorating. They came out great! I look forward to making the full 12-inch cookie one day.
Veronica says
Hi, I've had your blog in my favorites since last year and I check it daily to see what new recipes are posted. I want to say that I am so pleased with the delicious recipes. I have made a few but I recently made the one bowl chocolate chip cookie recipe and it was a huge hit with our family on a recent camping trip. I am the ultimate die hard chocolate chip cookie fan so I always find great recipes from you. I can't wait to try this M&M cookie cake next. Thanks for sharing! Also, I want to send a big Happy Birthday wish to Fuzz!!
Erin Mylroie says
Happy Birthday, Fuzz.
We made the peanut butter crunch bars yesterday. Oh, they were good. I mean really really good. I can't wait to tinker with that one.
TheAngelForever says
Oh my that cookie cake looks fabulous! Happy B-day to Fuzz 🙂
Now I may have to try this for the next birthday coming up rather than buying a cookie cake. Thanks for sharing.
Carmen Vj says
Oh, so delicious every is especially the brownie with that big walnut on top at the top of this page. I will bookmark your site to use the recipes. Everything looks so good:)
RecipeGirl says
My little guy would be super happy with that yummy looking cake. Looks like a giant pac man with the slice taken out of it!
Amanda says
I used to love these things as a kid. They were the ultimate treat. Top with some vanilla ice cream while the cookie is still hot and oh man. I try to stay away from it now since I have zero control around that thing but man, they are calling my name now. I used to just use the tollhouse cookie dough and slab that on a pan but a homemade one sounds even better.
Sophia says
Happy Birthday Fuzz!
I have a back-to-school party to go to Saturday and was just trying to think of something to take...This is perfect!
HeartofGlass says
Happy Birthday Emma!
I guess you could call the cookie EM&Ma giant cookie cake! Is there a party tomorrow?
clumbsycookie says
Can I go to the party? I'll bring a huge glass of milk! Happy birthday to Fuzz!
kelly says
tell fuzz happy birthday from me too!
i am thinking about making a similar cookie cake for my boyfriend for his birthday (sunday)....he is a huge cookie monster face. i was thinking of just making cookies until i saw this post and ah it looks so yummy!
dawn says
I love giant M&M cookies; the ultimate cookie, right? And I love all the stuff you make on here. I don't know where you find the time though.
Brenda says
I'm thinking Fuzz is 7 because if I remember correctly she's the same age as my daughter 🙂
I used to work in one of those cookie places in the mall and decorate giant cookie cakes...fun times! Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Katrina says
Is Fuzz turning 8? I'm guessing.
I just made small Levains w/yeast (1 1/8 oz.) with the brownie bites in them. They are good!
Carole R. says
Happy Birthday, Fuzz.
What a great looking cookie.
When you have time tell me all about your new teacher. I wish you were in my classroom. First grade, isn't it.
Alison says
I made a giant cookie for my son's birthday, but decorated it like a pizza - grated white chocolate for cheese, jelly sweet strips for peppers, red icing around the edges for tomato etc. It looked amazing, and the kids all loved it!
T. Martin says
Happy 6th (???)Birthday Fuzz!!! A few more days and we'd share the same birthday :-).
Anna says
Fuzz says thanks for all the birthday wishes. I'll buy her a toy on behalf of each of you ;).
Jess, that is one mind-blowing cookie cake.
Dana, good luck with the chocolate chipotle combo. I'm really into peanut butter chipotle at the moment.
Cathy, I feel the same way. M&M's make everything better.
Hannah, I hope to see a giant cookie come out of the Del Sisters Kitchen very soon.
Katrina....yeah!
Sue, that is too cute. See, as someone with a blog called Cookie Madness, I should do that. However, are theme is "Dogs" and we've only invited one kid.
Randi, that's good to know ;).
Cookie, I hope you like the white chocolate macadamia cookies.
Cookie says
I've made a batch of brownies with M&M's on top and they turned out colorful and yummy!
BTW, I'm going to be baking your White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies tonight! They look SO yummy!
Hannah says
Oh my little brothers and sister would love this!
Randi says
We have smarties in Canada too( we also have M & M's)
Melissa says
That looks so much tastier than the ones they sell at malls! Lovely.
Sue says
I made a giant cookie for my daughter's b'day cake many years ago. We had a cookie themed party. The invitations were cookie shaped, and one of the activities at the party was decorating pre baked sugar cookies, which the girls took home with them after the party. I made chefs hats for each of the girls, and little aprons. It was a lot of fun! I can't remember the other activities right now, but I know we did other cookie themed things.
Katrina says
Now THERE'S the ultimate CCC!
Cathy - www.wheresmydamnanswer.com says
That looks so yummy - anything with M and M's is a winner
Dana says
That looks perfect!!
I'm playing around with chocolate and chipotle today...hopefully with positive results!
Sal says
You can get M&Ms in the UK! I'll be making this very soon I'm sure!!!
runjess says
I love cookie cake so much!
I've made this one with excellent results, although I halved the recipe: http://desertculinary.blogspot.com/2005/05/giant-chocolate-chip-cookie-cake.html
Janet says
Happy Birthday to Fuzz! I know she will enjoy that cake...looks good;-)
JenJen says
That looks awesome! My kids would love it!!! Happy birthday to Fuzz!
VeggieGirl says
Oooh, a massive cookie!! 😀
Wishing Fuzz an early happy birthday!!